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Sadie
Sadie is an American/British/Canadian/Australian animated series that aired on MTV (later The N), in the US, Teletoon in Canada and the Nine Network in Australia. It also aired on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom, Locomotion in Latin America and 2x2 in Russia. It was produced by The Corning/Emerson Group, Nelvana, Granada International, MTV Animation (season 1) and Media World Features, and backed by Film Victoria, Screenwest and the Lotteries Commission of Western Australia. The show is a slice of life dark comedy drama set in a community college-type high school and based around five students of different nationalities, each trying to get by while attesting to their worst flaws. Plot The show took place in Prospect Academy and was centered on the eponymous Sadie, an Australian high school freshman and aspiring writer who wants to make something of her life. She is aided by her friends, the socially awkward Canadian Ori, the British sociopathic stoner Travis, his often hotheaded American step-brother Jerry and the intelligent African American Flip. The show explored themes of depression, bullying, withdrawal, loneliness and peer pressure. The show featured music from Sunny Day Real Estate, Hum, Filter, Incubus, Cold, Failure, Chevelle, No Doubt, Blink-182, Red House Painters and American Football. Production The concept for the show stemmed from one of many comic strips produced by Elliot Strange and Waylon Scylles. Sadie was based on "Slabs", which he produced for independent publications. A miniseries based on the strip was originally aired on Carlton Television and bore the same name as the strip. Keeping with the theme of the strip, it featured a collection of short stories based on different characters. One of which appealed more to viewers than others and convinced strip co-creator Waylon Scylles to produce a spin-off based on it. However, due to Carlton going through a restructure, the rights were sold off to Granada plc. A pilot was produced for the series for ITV networks, but it failed to make an impact for any of them. Scylles then contacted American co-creator Elliot Strange to help pitch the show to different countries, and he made a more successful pitch to American networks. As a fail-safe, the show would receive backing from not only Granada and whatever American networks were involved, but also from Canadian and Australian outfits so funding would remain plentiful, actors could be properly managed and would make licensing third-party material for use in the episodes easier. The show was based around five unnamed characters from the original strip. To better appeal to international demographics, as well as to take advantage of the international backers, Strange opted to use one actor from each country in leading roles (save for Australia, due to being unable to find a good enough actress for the role, opting for Morwenna Banks instead.) Strange also went with smaller actors for the remaining lead roles, such as Alyson Court, Glenn Howerton and Patrice O'Neal. The show was successful in the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada, but failed to make an impact in the United States. The creators attributed this to their choice for an American network, MTV, which they felt was best suitable for a show of its nature. Only the first season aired on MTV before it was taken off the network. Viacom eventually offered to have the show run on Noggin's late-night block The N, only on the condition that the creators tone down the adult elements of the show. Given that the prime criticism of the series was its handling of adult humor, the creators abided. When the first season aired on The N, most content was cut or edited, such as making Travis' weed addition more subtle and likening it to a similar substance and a scene that featured Ori's nude buttocks in the first episode. Characters Main Characters * Sadie Higgins (Morwenna Banks): The eponymous main protagonist. She wanted to enroll in a school based in the US in order to escape from the coddling care of her mother. Sadie is an aspiring writer, is fairly intelligent and is a fantasy nerd (shown through her writings based on mythical creatures, sometimes depicting herself as one.) Sadie is friendly, though she tends to be selfish and ignorant (often willingly) of issues she's out of the loop of. She is also rebellious, reflected through her many piercings, attire and not showering (something she originally did to spite her mother, but stuck with soon after.) She was born to an Irish mother and an Australian father, and spent her childhood in Gateshead, England. * Ori Robbins (Alyson Court): Sadie's best friend, and the secondary protagonist. Ori is the nicest out of everyone in Sadie's circle though she is somewhat naive, very sensitive and lacking in self-esteem. She loathes fashionistas and is content in wearing the same outfit for weeks on end (which is a sleeveless hoodie and denim jeans). Ori is often the victim of bullying and mockery from high-tier students, thanks to her sensitive nature and falls victim to peer pressure, which Sadie often has to help her through. Ori supposedly inspired a school wide nerd ratio, where her geekiness is determined by the size of her behind (due to the impression that she spends her free time behind her desk on a computer.) She develops a crush on Jerry and it's explored in Squint and Creep. She was born and raised in Vancouver, Canada. * Travis "The Deer Lord" Sheppard (Stephen Merchant): A prominent stoner who lives in the school. His grandfather founded Prospect and as a result, Travis inherited the former's house which he built on the school ground. He has allowed Ori and Sadie to stay in his house after they helped him avoid expulsion in the first episode and built their current friendship. While reckless due to his habit, he is very organized, has an eye for detail and is a decent drawer, even serving as an artist for Sadie on occasion. He earned the nickname The Deer Lord after covering himself in corn and luring a herd of deer into the school. His hair sticks up a lot to symbolize a lack of self-control. He was born and raised in Manchester, and has a younger American step-brother. * Jerry Sheppard (Glenn Howerton): Travis' younger step-brother, becoming so through Travis' father entering a relationship with his second wife. He's the most intelligent of the gang and has spent most of educational life studying abroad until he suffered a mental breakdown and was sent to Prospect to even himself out. He is prone to angry outbursts and emotional fits, which he blames on a horrible childhood and a bad experience with his 1st grade teachers, but he has a good heart. He shares a room with Ori, and the two eventually hook up, with Ori helping him control his temper. He was born in American Fork, Utah. * Flip Gamble (Patrice O'Neal): Originally rented Jerry's room whilst he was away. Adopted into a white family, Flip has been bullied for most of his life because of this and has gone through an identity crisis. He wears a ski-mask, both because he felt ashamed of his current living situation and due to the fact that his parents got him enrolled at Prospect through the affirmative action program and it made him fear that the alumni will view him as inferior. He's an intellectual match with Jerry, but he tends to use his intelligence for personal gain (usually to help Travis, whom he serves as the latter's go-to for pot). He was born in Atlanta, Georgia. Other Characters * Hoest Reiner (Norm Spencer): The school's headmaster. He formerly worked at Harvard until he was sent to Prospect to straighten it out after his predecessor broke down. Hoest was bitter at first to work at a much lower school, but gradually grew to accept it because of a lack of pressure. Hoest is apathetic to the alumni, especially Sadie and her camp of friends because of their selfish reasons for going to Prospect. He was once a frequent partier, but he distanced himself from it in order to be taken more seriously. His name is sourced from Bunny Hoest and John Reiner, the writers of The Lockhorns. * Amy (Jenna Von Oÿ): Among the more popular students, but contrary to belief, she's not a mean individual. Rather, she just refuses to associate with those whom she deems to be beneath her, yet she still often attacks Ori and Sadie. She judges people via experiences with similar individuals and through their appearance. In the first episode, it's implied that she needs to wear glasses, but she only wears them for special circumstances. Sadie depicts Amy as a villain in her writings, portraying her as a werewolf and ogre to represent Amy's inner ugliness. * Eve (Jennifer Hale): Amy's supposed best friend who frequently defends her when someone questions Amy's authority. She is very gullible and would do anything if someone more popular than her told her to. It's revealed in A Keeper that not even Amy likes her. * Dell Higgins (Roma Downey (episode 1) Linda Kash): Sadie's over-protective mother. Dell has kept Sadie sheltered throughout her child and teen years. She blames her clinginess on a lack of communication with her own mother, until it's revealed that her mother was the same as she was. Dell never punished nor disciplined her daughter, who learned right from wrong from her father and through television. Dell's coddling is not done out of genuine love and care, but out of complete incompetence. Dell seems to live in her own world and is oblivious to obvious problems. * Syd Higgins (Rhys Darby): Sadie's father. For most of his life, he neglected Sadie, but after she began distancing herself from her mother and giving him more attention, he became more caring toward his daughter and tends to encourage her to pursue life on her own. Episodes Reception The show received favorable reviews from critics and viewers. Praise went toward the stylish animation, diverse cast and realistic writing. However, the show only found consistent success internationally. In the US, the show hopped between two networks. MTV cancelled the show after its first season, but found better luck on The N where the remainder of the series aired. Video Game A java adventure game based on the show was released for mobile phones, published and developed by Fathammer and RedLynx. You play as Sadie, setting out to look for her friends during an on campus riot and then setting out to attend an end of the school year party. DVD Release Due to the show's licenses on the songs used throughout the series expiring, as well as ownership disputes between backers, the show was unable to see a release on DVD. However, The Corning/Emerson Group's parent company, Cal Clarion, did release the show on DVD in 2014, but they were heavily edited, replacing the music and end credits. Complaints by fans of the series led to the DVD going out of print.